Customer Reviews

The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight: Revised and Updated: The Fate of the World and What We Can Do Before It's Too Late

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This is a nearly flawless achievement of creative nonfiction. Hartmann addresses some of the most complex and important issues of human and worldly culture with crisp, enjoyable language.

Thom Hartmann deserves to be recognized as a philosopher because of his clarity of thought and the quality of his observations and arguments.

The various topics are diverse but interrelated. It's difficult to perfectly summarize the contents of thie book, but Hartmann addresses each aspect of life with a sad wisdom and a hopeful optimism.

He addresses anthropocentrism: the tendency humans have to view the rest of the world as valuable only if is can be used or appreciated by people. This type of thinking has been instrumental in our gradual and steady distance from nature in many ways. Hartmann explains why distance from nature is detrimental to the health of the planet, to our bodies and our psychological well-being.

Specifically, Hartmann opens up a relatively unnoticed world of history, in the tradition of Howard Zinn, Derrick Jensen (A Language Older Than Words) and Daniel Quinn (Ishmael). His candor is needed, and his analysis of history and contemporary culture is at once astonishing, necessary and intriguing. Chapter after chapter his words, ideas and citations challenge you to think, to wonder and reconsider human behavior and lies.

He has borrowed some ideas from the aforementioned authors and put them to good use. He is a better writer than Daniel Quinn, who delivers a choppy, amateurish prose in spite of his good intentions. Hartman better converys his ideas, so if you're one of the millions of fans of Ishmael, I guarantee you'll want to buy or rent this book.

The title phrase refers to the fact that the earth's energy and its organisms' lifeforces are fueled by sunlight in some form or another(fossil fuels being ancient sunlight), but this treatise on the history of human culture is infinitely more than a polemic against the oil industry.

It's an exploration of the mistakes that have been made (slavery, deforestation, human and animal exploitation, corruption) and it's a cogent and admirable plea to change the way our political and social leaders govern the world. It's about the cultural stories that pervade our lives, the religions, the assumptions that people should have dominion over the earth's resources and even over other humans.

Covered are such issues as global warming, famine,war, misogyny, art, religiosity, aboriginal lifestyles, agriculture, social opiates (narcotics, alcohol, television, "news", antidepressants, etc).

What truly impressed me about this book was Hartmann's ability to convey his opinions without seeming arrogant or frantic, despite that he is well-educated and obviously concerned. He reminds us how powerful language can be, how it relates to collective memory of historical events and how important it can be to change, even if that evolution is painful or challenging.

I consider this to be an important history text, although his solutions to the problems seem lackluster. What I mean by this is that he correctly identifies human thought (and subsequently human culture) as the culprit. In order to cease the desire for exploitation of other people and of land, it's necessary to do some serious revision in the way we view our relationship with the earth.

So, no, you won't find a checklist of 50 quick things you can do to improve the world; it isn't that simple. Quite frankly, that's what is frustrating about this book and Daniel Quinn's books-- they identify problems clearly, but they know that the solutions are very very difficult and involved.

Read this book with an open mind, and I suspect it will motivate you to change the way you view some aspects of contemporary Western civilization.

Thom Hartmann's "The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight" is extremely important and cogent, and needs to be read and absorbed by many to ensure the possibility of a future for the human race and all other life on Earth. Divided into three main parts, this book explains in detail where we are, how and why we got here, and what we can do for a brighter future. Very practical, well-researched, comprehensive. I am not aware of a better book on the issues, especially since it not only sets out the realities of our situation (dependence on dwindling oil and clean-water supplies, destruction of forests and plant/animal species, unsustainable population growth, frequent wars, third-world and first-world impoverishment, etc.), but also explains why, fundamentally, human civilization has gotten us into this mess (tracing the causes back thousands of years to the basis of civilization and comparing the recent city-state or nation-state lifestyle to that of the much older tribe), and what we can possibly do to change our course and save our children and their children and the planet they will inherit.

I would give a more detailed or articulate description, but I lent my copy out the day I finished reading it, and several people are already waiting in line to borrow it. If there is a book to buy multiple copies of and give away, this is the best one I have found. Do not let it sit on the bookshelf indefinitely - after you read it, pass it around, from one person to another, making sure it never stays the same place, unread, for long. If you must keep a copy for your own reference, at least buy a second one to pass around to your friends.

I was shocked, entertained, surprised, touched and extremely moved by the contents of this well written eye-opening book. Opposed to other peak-oil subject books this book is not concentrating on the numbers and technical solutions but on our cultural roots and our pathological and illogical behavior as a result. The spiritual part of this book did not bother me at all despite the fact that I don't consider myself as a very spiritual person. I can fully understand his strong arguments to dig into our roots and that we must learn from the point we strayed to the path of superior feeling, materialism, short-term profits, etc... Hartmann delivers his point very well and I recommend this book to all people who think that we can work our way out of this mess we are in by wishfull thinking or technological inventions and to all people who see no way out of it at all (so this are about all people in the industrialized world). We only have to reinvent ourselves and this book shows us the way. Without a doubt one of the top five most important books I have ever read in my life if not the number one. I even think that this book should be read by all children in every school in Europe and America!

The first part of this book just catalogs all the problems facing us; it's discouraging, even if you're aware of peak oil
and so on. But the second half really makes it clear that the problem is due to a deep and fundamental cultural issue, not in any one aspect of our lives. It brought together my vague feelings about capitalism, resource consumption, growth, government, community, nature, etc., into a consistent whole; or at least a framework for that.

Approaching the problems the world faces by oh, replace your light bulbs with compact fluorescents; well, it's silly. A good thing to do, but to think of it as a solution is silly; it's still a terrible drain on the planet and adds to the toxic burden we face, just a little less so; an actual solution is something like turning off the light altogether. And likewise, convincing everyone around you to switch to CFs isn't a "solution". And there will be *no* solution to *any* of the problems we face, as long as we all still think: get ahead, wealth is good, growth is good, we can fix it, nature is there for our use, only now matters, etc. Rather than actually valuing the biosphere above our convenience and comfort, and accepting its limitations and taking a longer view.

I don't think fundamental cultural change is likely or easy, but it is something we can each start working on ourselves at home. The only thing we really can control and change is ourselves, but that has the power to change our interactions with everything around us.

On the down side, this book does have a few places where it oversimplifes - if you're going to cram the decline and fall of the Roman empire into a couple of sentences, it's hard not to. There are some places where it seems to be candy-coating, although it comes back to admitting nothing is perfect. And there's a little bit of woo-woo in there; but I'm rather sensitive to that stuff. But overall an amazing book. Still too soon to say if it's life changing - the test will be if my life is actually changed besides a few days of inspiration - but up in that category. I strongly recommend it.

As I was researching global warming for my novel, The Remembering, A Novel of Karma and Global Peril, I read five books on the subject. By far, Harmann's was the most thoughtful and helpful, especially his discussion of how "ancient sunlight" -- oil and other fossil fuels -- engendered the industrial revolution and an unsustainable expansion of human population since the 1880's. Especially useful was his projection of how the human race will fare when oil supplies dwindle during this century along with mass population displacements. There are certain ignore-ant politicians who would benefit from this information and its visionary suggestions on how we might correct our shortsighted errors before it's too late.
John Nelson MD, author The Remembering, Healing the Split, Sacred Sorrows.

Few books in my life have caused me to reconsider my politics or my religion - not to change them so much but to assess why I've held certain beliefs. The new perspective I gained from the read will undoubtedly alter both of these important aspects of my life. This one book impacted me in a way that no other single volume ever has. As soon as my wife is finished reading it, I'll read it again. I'm thinking of buying several copies to circulate among family and friends. Outstanding.

This book is an eye-opener. It can change the way you look at things from the start. Yes, it deals with the peak-oil issue but from a deeply felt, insightful viewpoint that makes us look at energy not just as fossil fuel but as sunlight itself. It delves into concepts of living off current sunlight versus ancient sunlight and the implications of a culture built upon such cheap, abundant energy and the upcoming diminishing of such a source -- the last hours of it. Thom Hartman expresses a genuine concern and vision for the future of humanity against a backdrop of the insights shared in this wonderful book. Highly recommended.

I have come to know Thom Hartmann from many hours spent with five of his books. All have been enjoyable and inspiring to read and very engaging in style and content. All have offered insight that is both original and compelling. Clearly, with all his writing, Hartmann's intention is to empower his readers and to encourage change that could really make a difference.

THE LAST HOURS OF ANCIENT SUNLIGHT examines many of the critical environmental issues facing our Earth. Hartmann reflects thoughtfully on how human society has managed to get so seriously off the track and out of touch with the natural world. He looks at our dangerous dependence on rapidly diminishing global reserves of oil and shows how it will cause ecological ruin and could lead to human suffering on a scale never before seen if we fail to adopt a wiser course based on the use of clean, renewable forms of energy. Hartmann says, "the primary job of community is to provide safety and security for all of its citizens, and a context in which they can daily touch the sacred." What a wonderful thing it would be if we could all embrace this noble sentiment. THE LAST HOURS OF ANCIENT SUNLIGHT provides a clear roadmap that can help each of us find a path for living that is both sustainable and affirming of all life on our planet.

THE LAST HOURS OF ANCIENT SUNLIGHT is one of the most important of all the books I have ever read. I bought eight copies and gave them to people I care about. Anyone who is troubled by what is happening to our world will find clarity and understanding and hope in this book. Read it, then buy copies to share with your relatives and friends. You'll be glad you did.

I admit I was initially intrigued by the poetic title. But the reviews were what prompted me to buy and read this remarkable book. Meticulously researched (and footnoted), yet eminently readable, this eye-opening book lays out fact after alarming fact about the state of the environment worldwide and ties everything together brilliantly, tracing how we got where we are, over 7,000 years. Fortunately, the last section of the book offers suggestions for turning things around, though it proffers no technological or scientific fixes. The solutions, like the forces behind the problems, are cultural.

This book will likely change forever how you view the world and your own place and actions in it. Read it, then give a copy to everyone you know. Time is running out.

Last Hours offers a perspective that is all to often missing from debates about energy, over consumption, waste, and survival. As an engineer type, I find systems thinking, that is, discussions of the inter-relationships and critical dependencies inherent in our lifestyles, almost totally absent from political and business discussions on the energy topic. It's easy to assume we can by some unspecified miracle, easily substitute hydrogen or yet-to-be discovered energy sources to replace oil, and go on as we have before. Hartmann's book explains in an easy-to-understand way why this cannot happen. There are so many great points made in this book it's hard to pick one or two as more praiseworthy than others. However one that many folks may not realize is that the so-called production of oil is not linear - it takes much more time and money to get the last half of the oil out of a well than the first half. For this reason, serious, life-altering planetary shortages will occur long before we 'run out'. People who think we can just substitute nukes would benefit from knowing that it takes at least 12 years to build a plant. Once online, it takes another 17 years for it to pay for itself, and after that it may produce "free" electricity for 3 - 5 years before chemical reactions and radiation make it necessary either to replace major plant components - a process that takes 3-5 years and may cost as much as the whole plant did originally, or retire the plant altogether. (This is not idle theory, it has already happened in the US). Lastly, those who whistle past the graveyard by insisting that the way things are is the way they ought to be (or some higher power would have intervened by now) may benefit from Hartmann's historically accurate account of the way things were before they got to the way they are. For skeptics I suggest that even if Hartmann were half right, you'd be motivated to start taking the important steps now.